


Clockwork Doll

by freakishlyweird



Category: A3! (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Steampunk, Character Death, Hurt No Comfort, I Tried, Implied Slash, M/M, My First Work in This Fandom, Not Really Character Death, OOC as fuck, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Out of Character, Plotbunnies, Robot/Human Relationships, Tsuzuru I’m Sorry For Ruining Your Work
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-25
Updated: 2020-05-25
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:14:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,987
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23946763
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/freakishlyweird/pseuds/freakishlyweird
Summary: ”An era where advancements in steam engines have led to them becoming the foundation of everyday life.In a small workshop in the back alley of a certain country,a young man opens his eyes.”A Clockwork Heart play but it’s an Akigumi AU, juban, and most importantly, GAY(or “friendship” as the playwright implies)
Relationships: Hyoudou Juuza/Settsu Banri
Comments: 10
Kudos: 41





	Clockwork Doll

**Author's Note:**

> Supposedly in honor of the bitterness I had for DOING 20 DRAWS ON THE CLOCKWORK HEART BANNER AND NOT GETTING SHIT
> 
> Apologies if this comes off as stupid, bad and/or plain cringy.

_The prodigy has done it yet again.  
  
_

Banri Settsu hears that from everyone every time he flawlessly finishes up his work like always.  
  


And rightly so, he would think to himself. Another highly ambitious project of his is close to fruition. Another groundbreaking machine that will be credited to his name.

He hates to admit it, but this project is certainly more difficult that the others he have done, if not the most difficult thing he has ever made.

It is rather unfortunate that the former child prodigy of alchemy, the reclusive young genius, able to do anything he sets his mind into—is in a pathetic slump.

Simply put, he is stumped that he couldn’t get it to work. This is very much frustrating on Banri’s part, as he has never known the concept of second attempts and trial stages. His calculations are always right on the money, always works perfectly on the first try.

This is why it almost drove him insane, finding out what went wrong. Frantically flipping through all of his papers, he tries to pinpoint the reason why won’t his unit work.

Meanwhile, the unit is propped up by a special machine, its looming, sleeping figure almost mocking its creator.

Banri couldn’t help but look at his supposed magnum opus in contempt everytime he glances up from his research. Its design is eye-catching and unique—as all of his machines were.

He is very particular with the aesthetics of his machines, as he does for its inner intricacies. This one just took a different form, as he has to create a face.

This time, the machine takes on the form of a tall youth, wearing nothing but a makeshift garb of cloth and leather. A homunculus.

It is looming figure of a young man with dark blue hair, stray strands of it curtaining its face. At first glance, no one would figure out that it is a machine. It has the visage of a typical rugged delinquent boy, or a rebellious noveau riche.

The main attraction of the machine, however, is a fist-sized rose-colored translucent glass dome, fitted at the center of the machine’s chest. Inside it are very minute cogs, intricately linked with each other. An artisanal handiwork, no one could ever replicate.

Banri would think, _that one’d be a thing of beauty—if that thing would actually fucking work_.

Having no idea how his near-flawless work could have failed, he tried pinpointing several things that might have caused the failure. With that, he began to painstakingly redo the machine’s inner workings. His calloused hands bled from the sheer difficulty and intensity of the task.

He failed once more, the machine lifeless as ever.

And so he went and redid his work again. And he failed again.

Ten times he painstakingly redid everything, coming up with solutions to problems he had not fathomed. Ten times the wounds on his hands healed and reopened from the work.

Ten times it was all for nothing.

These failures almost drove Banri into giving up. For the first time ever, the genius has tasted defeat and utter hopelessness. But alas, such frustration drove him to finish his work.

Then after the tenth attempt, it was a success.

Once electricity has ran its course over his creation's form, it—slowly, yet surely—opened its eyes.

Banri expected his frustration to finally reach its tipping point. He expected to be angry. In fact, he _wanted_ to be angry at this thing, for all the suffering and humiliation it has brought him. He wanted to strangle this thing, for being such a failure, an utter pain.

But all he could feel is relief washing over him, all pent-up anger inside him dissipating like smoke. It was like a mother finally seeing her newborn child that she begrudgingly carried for months and feeling strange happiness from it.

Strangely enough, the only things in his mind are smug pride and _how fucking good this thing's irises turned out_. Its eyes are sharp and intense, iridescent golden irises glinting from the small amount of sunlight Banri's workshop gets.

It is alive.

And its life meant victory for Banri Settsu. He does not seem to be aware how loud and enthused his yells of triumph were. Another work done well.

The homunculus just stared at the surroundings, then back at its awestruck master, unsure of what to do.

So, it did the most logical thing it could think of and stepped down from the dais to get a good look of this man—assuming that this man is really his master. But alas, he does not question that.

Banri decided to recover his wits, break the silence and attempt to speak to it.

”You are my finest work yet, my friend...” he finds himself blurting out, loud enough for the homunculus to hear.

”Friend?” it says, its voice monotonous and deeper than he had anticipated “I... am Master’s friend?”

Of course, Banri was taken aback by the response. _A friend_.

He had lived his life without needing that kind of emotional baggage, so why need one now?

But alas, he decided to entertain the homunculus’ notion, and play along with. Living, conscious, and human-like as it is, it is still a dumb doll by the end of the day.

“Why yes of course,” Banri replies, his voice teeming with sarcasm. _It’s not like dumb dolls like these know nuances,_ he thinks to himself.

”Here, shake my hand,” he continues, taking the homonculus’ hand and giving it a firm handshake. He notes that its skin—albeit its metallic feel—has warmth similar to body heat.

“This is how humans greet each other,” he says. “Handshake,”

He let go of its hand. The homunculus stared at its own hand curiously, then back to its master.

The atmosphere was stirred by the creaking of the door behind them. A red-haired young man came into view. He is much shorter, less world-weary, and has an overall aura of an excited puppy.

“Yo, Ban-chan! I mean, Sir!” he says, as if his default way of speaking is set to _excited_ “What are we do—oh...”

He stares at the homoculus, not losing the childlike curiosity in his blue eyes. He turns to Banri.

”Yo, you took in a new apprentice or something?” he says, his excitement toned down a bit, as if to act polite.

“Good timing, Taichi,” Banri says, facing him. “This is my new... _friend_...”

“ _Eeeeh?!_ ” Taichi cries, completely missing the sarcastic tone “A complete shut-in like you, who haven’t seen sunlight in God-knows-how-long, has a _friend_?!”

“Oi, I didn’t appoint you to be my apprentice just to be sassy at me!” Banri barks, to which Taichi shrivels.

“Eep!” he shrieks, then sheepishly turns to the homunculus “Hehe... I’m Taichi, and your name is...?”

Having thought of a name beforehand, Banri responds, “It’s Juza,”

Personally he doesn’t know the reasoning of his choice, except for the fact that _ten_ is there, and it sure is the greatest reminder of his ten failures. He could’ve sworn he saw the homunculus‘ eyes light up upon being given a name.

“Right,” Taichi grins, offering a handshake “It’s very nice to meet you, Juza-san!”

“...yes...” the homunculus mutters, taking up the offer, and making sure to remember its master’s words earlier. However, the homunculus grips Taichi’s hand a bit too tightly.

”Yeowch!” Taichi yelps “Y-you’re crushing my hand!”

The homunculus seems to be unaware, as it does not loosen its grip until it completes the handshake. When it does, it slowly retracts its hand from Taichi’s.

It stares at its own hand, pondering.

”Handshake...” it says, slow and unsure as ever.

And thus, Banri thinks, _Oh right. Homunculi are destructive by nature_ _. What a pain..._

* * *

Banri is surprised that he actually had the patience to teach Juza how to behave, considering how much of his works it had accidentally destroyed due to its clumsiness.

Despite such, he notes that it is actually very docile and is intelligent enough to pick up and internalize all the things he teaches it.

And under Banri’s custody, Juza has grown to develop human-like traits. However, emotions and sentimentality are still major hurdles for the homunculus, as it could not grasp such concept.

“What the...” Banri mutters one day, holding the smithereens of what used to be one of his fine-tuned machines “Oi, Juza! Did you break this?!”

The homunculus appears at his side.

“Why are you so mad about?” it asks, its voice no longer monotonous “Broken things can be easily fixed by you, right?”

Banri glares at it. “Well, thanks for stating the fucking obvious!” he hissed “Can’t you get in that tin head of yours that it’s not the problem?!”

He storms off in frustration, leaving it confused than ever.

With that, a dull pain throbbed within the homunculus’ chest. Having no idea what it means, it tries to alleviate the pain instead by gently poking and pressing down its glass “heart”. It is fully aware that it does nothing, but continues to do so anyways.

Day by day, Banri distances himself from Juza, frustrated about its apparent incompetence and lack of sentience. At one point, he only speaks to it when winding up its key.

Day by day, the unexplainable dull pain persists, its glass heart forming fine fissures from Juza pressing on it consistently.

* * *

It was another ordinary day for the both of them, until someone enters their little sanctuary.

A man, much older than Banri comes into scene. His aura is nothing but authoritative and intimidating. His all-black clothing contrasts his mop of blond hair sticking out from his hat. His spectacles glints menacingly.

”Banri,” he calls, voice resonating throughout the room. Immediately, it catches Banri’s attention. The ever-curious Juza also peeks from the side.

“It’s been a while, _Sakyo-nii_ ,” Banri amicably jeers. “So how’s it goi—“

”You know what I came here for, correct?” Sakyo says. Banri’s expression turns guarded.

“I am fully aware about it,” he replies in an equally cold tone. “And I still refuse to do such,”

”I’ve been telling you, the authorities already have tabs on artificial humans such as that... doll...” Sakyo says, drawling out the last word and pointing at Juza. “If you don’t take the matters to yourself, they will forcibly take it apart. Your alchemical license will get revoked,”

“It’s not a doll, dammit!” Banri hisses. “ _He’s_ my greatest work and I’m not gonna dismantle _him!_ ”

Sakyo’s expression changed from steely to bemused to defeated.

”I see that you have grown rather... _attached_ to that doll of yours,” Sakyo says, pinching the bridge of his nose as always. “I knew I should have taught you _social skills_ first,”

“Dilly-dally all you want with that doll, but don’t say I didn’t warn you,” Sakyo says one last time. And with that, he takes his leave.

Juza approaches the still-apprehensive Banri, the key on his back requiring winding up. As Banri winds the key, the homunculus asks,

”What he said...” it says “Am I just a doll?”

Banri is silent at first, pondering as he slowly winds the key. He wonders himself. Juza has definitely grown to be human-like. As a matter of fact, he thinks it is almost as passable as a human.

A clumsy, dense human.

Juza is very incompetent and relatively idiotic, sure, but the thought of taking apart a partially sentient being mortifies Banri. It almost feels like the authorities were out to murder it.

The urge to protect his finest work blossoms. He definitely cannot let them ruin his hard-earned work.

And so he tells it, ever so softly, “...No, you’re not... Pay that senile old man no mind,”

* * *

Sakyo’s warnings were proven to be true, as the authorities are already doing their rounds just a few days later.   
  


Taichi bursts into the workshop, in complete terror. Trailing behind him are the authorities, which is led by a tall man, even taller than Juza. His demeanor radiates kindness, but his face seems almost sinister.

”B-ban-chan!” he cries “T-they’re here! Quickly! Hide Juza-san!”

”Hide?” Juza mumbles “But why?”

“Oh, just fuck off,” Banri says, still indignant to the approaching guards “I’ll never take him apart!”

“I can’t believe the great young alchemist has fallen from grace like this,” the officer replies to Banri, feigning pity. “It seems that your hubristic tendencies has consumed you,”

He orders the guards to block the doorway, and orders two to surround the alchemist. He then goes up to Juza, as he sizes it up. He then looks back to Banri, pity in his eyes.

”Man and machine are never meant to be combined, my child,” he says in a gentle tone. “You are an intelligent one. You perfectly know this, and you perfectly know defying them causes ruin,”

What Banri knows that his kind tone is merely a facade for the menacing authoritarian beneath. He remains defiant.

”He’s not just a machine, dumbass!” Banri growls “He’s alive, conscious and sentient as we are!”

”He just... happens to operate on clockwork...” he trails. Taichi looks at his mentor fearfully.

“How foolish of you to think of that,” the officer shoots back “Regardless of state of mind, it is _still_ a machine. You can’t even tell straight to my face that he is a true human,”

He holds Juza’s face with his two fingers, pity still in his expression. The homunculus is silent, confused as it let this strange man inspect it like some sort of carcass. Banri threatens to come at him, but Taichi holds his forearm tightly.

“My, my... it is one fine piece of machine,” the officer mocks, then faces Banri “But remember this, it is foolishness to regard this...”

He looks at Juza with a disgusted look.

”...thing... as an actual human,” he continues, his kind tone from earlier vanishing “Stop this playing God nonsense and comply to the regulations. I don’t care if you’re the brightest alchemist in the world, you are still governed by the law,”

”Consider this a fair warning, Settsu-san,” he ends sinisterly. With that, he orders his guards to leave, and so did he. Banri orders Taichi to come home earlier than usual.

When the two are left alone, Banri slumps over, defeated. He looks at Juza, who seems to have a worried expression. He goes up to it to wind up the key on its back.

“Did I just make you just to stroke my own ego...?” he mutters to no one in particular, slowly winding up the key. “Are you really just a doll to them?”

The dull pain emerges again, making Juza instinctively press down its heart with its fingers. This time, however, it caves in from the pressure and cracks. Shards of glass falls off the floor.

Fortunately for it, its master is too preoccupied with his thoughts to notice.

When its master is not looking, it picks up the pieces of its heart that fell off and dumps it in the trash.

* * *

As the days went on, surveillance in the city intensifies. One would not see an area where guards are always on the watch.

One of those days, Banri went out to run some errands. Juza is naturally following suit, noticeable distance between them.  
  


He was listlessly passing by a construction site, when the support beams collapsed and fell over him. Banri had no time to react nor scream, as shock took over his being.

The only reaction he could do in fact, is to wrench his eyes closed and wait for the pain and the death to take over.

The pain does take over, sending immense, bone-crushing pain on his body. However, he does not die.

When he opened his eyes, he saw Juza. It shielded him from some of the beams that might have killed him instantly. It is so close that its hot “breath” tickles his skin.

However, this was at the cost of some of its external plating getting scraped off, revealing some of the cogs and clockwork where a normal human’s organs should be. He also notes that the glass covering of its heart is completely shattered, and its gears risk falling off.

Despite all this, the homunculus only has its eyes fixated on its master. Its golden eyes shone against the smoldering afternoon sun.

”Oi, g-get out of here you fucking dummy!” Banri yells shortly after regaining composure “They can’t see you like this!”

Juza shook its head.

”You dumbass... this is a direct order— _ngh_!” Banri hisses, as he tries to prop himself up. This is to no avail as pain shoots up from his legs. Blood trickles out.

”I refuse,” Juza says, as it slowly lifts up the steel bars on Banri’s legs. “I wish to save you,”

Shortly, a group of angry voices became nearer. The guards, including the officer that raided Banri’s workshop arrives.

”Deploy all forces!” the officer boomed “This group, tend to the injured! And the others...”

He faces Banri and Juza.

”Retrieve this robot!”

Banri tries to stand up, wanting to take Juza away from the surrounding guards, but his legs failed him. It still sends piercing pain to his being whenever he tries to move it. More warm, sticky blood trickles from his leg, forming a small pool.

As the guards close in, Banri sees a flash of bright red on the corner of his vision. A loud voice gradually overpowers the tinnitus.

”...sir! Sir! Excuse me!”

It was Taichi, quickly running to the guards.

”Sir! There were more injured civilians over there and they require assistance right away!” Taichi yells, motioning the guards to another direction.

”...Right,” the officer says firmly, contemplating for a few moments

“Guards! Let us deal with the issue later. We must ensure the safety of the injured!”

So the guards went off to a different direction, leaving the trio alone.

”Juza-san, quickly!” Taichi cries “They’d be here shortly. Get Ban-chan out of here!”

Juza does not need to be told twice, as it quickly throws off all the steel bars crushing Banri. The effort it took to protect Banri from the falling steel beams causes Juza to sustain moderate damage on his entire body.

After that, it gingerly hoists its master up and carries him bridal style.

They quickly ran off the direction without much guards, and into the edge of the city. The damage Juza seemed to have sustained, took a major toll on its movements, which is going more spastic by the minute.

Banri, despite dazed by his own pain, sees Juza in its sorry state. Somehow, seeing it like this hurts him more than his own injuries.

They stopped at one point. Taichi looks around, before declaring “This should do,”

Gently, Juza puts down Banri. The latter is still having difficulties walking, but was able to stand up, arm slung to the former’s for support.

“You definitely saved our asses back there, Taichi,” Banri says “I owe you a big one,”

”Oh, that’s nothing,” Taichi replies, flustered at the compliment. Shortly, his expression glooms. “But, you can’t stay in this city anymore. They’ll be out to get you...”

”It’ll be fine,” Banri huffs “We’ll just get out of here, right—“

“I can’t,” Juza replies, a world-weary expression painted on its face. A rather new thing, coming from the emotionally-challenged homunculus.

Its form is damaged, and some of its gears are already missing. Any moment, it could fall apart.

”Take me back instead,” it says, softly. “ _Please, Banri. Just take me back home,”_

Its tone is so gentle and pleading, it’s very uncharacteristic. And yet, it tugs at Banri’s heartstrings, and gives his stomach a sinking feeling. He knows what it wants to convey, and he refuses to acknowledge it.

Taichi looks at his mentor, unsure of the next step. Having no other option, Banri obliges Juza’s request.

* * *

The trip to Banri’s workshop is short, but arduous. Juza seems to struggle walking as the minutes pass by, so Taichi assists it.

Once they were inside, Juza immediately uses its last burst of strength to go up the dais where it was first activated. Banri thanks Taichi for his help once more, an instructs him to go home for the day.

“Are you sure about this...?” Banri says to Juza, his voice surprisingly fragile. His trembling fingers hover over the key. “You know I can’t do this to you...”

He could never fathom that deactivating a homunculus could be this painful. Regardless of how relatively idiotic and dense it is, it has definitely grown on him. The doll that once never left his side ever since its conception.  
  


In the few months that it is alive, he was never lonely. It managed to wedge itself in his life and be a significant part of it, to the point that going back to solitude now terrifies him.  
  


His train of thoughts were interrupted by its voice.

”It is alright,” Juza says, voice already glitchy and static from the damage “You deserve to live in peace. And it seems that without me, those people will not be after you. It is the only way I can see,”

Banri’s eyes stung, tears on the verge of falling. Such mercy that he had not fathomed would be coming from it.

”I forcibly gave you life,” he says, holding the homunculus’ hands tightly “I can’t forcibly take your life as well. There could be another way!”

Juza replies “Even if you fix me up, they will come after me and destroy me over and over. I cannot bear to bring that suffering upon you,”  
  
  


Banri could only look at the homunculus. Its iridescent golden eyes glinted amber against the little sunset light the workshop receives. Its face is melancholic, as if about to cry as well. He has never felt such helplessness.

“I can finally understand the thing you taught me...” it continues, “Sadness... it always has manifested as a deep pain within me, but now I can finally comprehend it,”  
  


“It deeply pains me that we should part, but I somehow know that we shall see each other again," it says.

"And somehow, the idea of us meeting again makes me at peace,"

Banri looks up to it, somehow amazed that he has managed to build a sentient being.

Juza telling him that they will meet again brings forth hope. A strange thing, indeed.

"Right..." Banri replies "I can definitely rebuild you... We will see each other again,"

"So," he continues, gripping the key on Juza's back "This will be a goodbye for now, my friend,"

This time around, he's not sarcastic.

Banri finally pulls the key, and Juza slumps, lifeless. The sun has finally set.

He stared at nothingness for a good while.

Then, he fell to his knees, sobbing at the dead homunculus' feet. He does not seem to be aware how loud his sobs are.

It was the first time Banri Settsu has cried as far as he could remember.

* * *

It was a sunny day in the city. Banri is seen walking on the pavement, engaging in small talk with the townsfolk. Taichi passes by, and recognizes him instantly.

"Ban-cha—errr... Sir!" he calls "Is that really you? Here outside? You're finally becoming a living person?!"

"Oi, I didn't fucking appoint you as apprentice to be sassy at me!" he playfully replies. "We're still catching up on lessons we missed,"

Taichi turned as red as his hair "Yeah... right... haha..."

Before he could reply, he notes a shiny thing that Banri is wearing.

"What’s that?" Taichi says, pointing at Banri's necklace. “I haven’t seen that on you before...”

It was a bronze key the size of his palm, with elaborate design on the bit. It hangs on a simple piece of string.

"Oh, this one?" Banri replies, lifting the key up a bit. “It’s a pendant,”

_"And let’s just say, this thing holds a sentimental value for me,"_

**Author's Note:**

> let’s cry over juban together @/mklghlts
> 
> Additional notes/Outtakes:
> 
> -assume the ages are at year 2 MANKAI
> 
> \- Juza is a very fragile homunculus
> 
> -Omi is the officer, but I just cannot find an appropriate point in the fic to outright describe his name nor features.
> 
> -Banri is already well-acquainted with Taichi before agreeing into apprenticeship, hence why Taichi just can’t get rid of “Ban-chan”.
> 
> -Sakyo was Banri’s first and only tutor, as the young prodigy quickly outskilled him. Out of kindness, Sakyo took on the Life Coach™️ role.
> 
> -According to Banri’s observational notes, Juza’s “skin” is made out of a special type of metal, which feels almost like a thin piece of steel. Its “body heat” is from the residual heat energy, much like the heat you feel on a working appliance.
> 
> -Juza does not require respiration, but rather uses its orifices (esp. on the nose and mouth) for ventilation purposes. At one point, Taichi even suggested to make Juza into a heater cuddle buddy for the cold winter nights. Obviously, Banri said no.
> 
> -Juza’s heart serves as its emergency switch, in the events that the key goes missing/cannot be removed. One can simply break open its heart and take apart all the gears to disable it, but only Banri can put the miniscule gears back in its proper place.
> 
> -In connection to the previous point, the gears in Juza’s heart are painstakingly handcrafted by Banri. Its creation and assembly are so immensely complex, nobody can ever replicate it. The design is a trade secret that Banri will take to his grave.
> 
> -Banri will definitely include the secrets regarding the creation of Juza on things to take to his grave.
> 
> -beta title: absolute boyfriend but gay


End file.
